Interactive virtual care

ABSTRACT

An interactive virtual care system may include a user sensory module to acquire multi-modal user data related to user movement. A data analysis module may compare the multi-modal user data to predetermined historical user data and/or statistical norm data for users to identify an anomaly in the user movement.

PRIORITY

This application is a Continuation of commonly assigned and co-pendingU.S. patent application Ser. No. 14/513,960, filed Oct. 14, 2014, andentitled “INTERACTIVE VIRTUAL CARE”, which is a Continuation of commonlyassigned U.S. patent application Ser. No. 14/293,562, filed Jun. 2,2014, issued as U.S. Pat. No. 8,888,721 on Nov. 18, 2014, 2014, andentitled “INTERACTIVE VIRTUAL CARE”, which is a Continuation of commonlyassigned U.S. patent application Ser. No. 13/213,930, filed Aug. 19,2011, issued as U.S. Pat. No. 8,771,206 on Jul. 8, 2014, and entitled“INTERACTIVE VIRTUAL CARE”, which are incorporated by reference in theirentireties.

BACKGROUND

In facilities, such as, for example, a health care facility, where anindividual's movements may be evaluated, an individual (e.g., a patient)may be evaluated by a health care provider. The evaluation may be based,for example, on visual inspection of the individual's movements. Suchvisual inspection can result in subjective diagnosis based on the healthcare provider's interpretation of the individual's movements. The degreeor type of impairment of an individual's movements can be a relevantfactor in interpretation of the individual's movements. An objectiveunderstanding of an individual's movements may facilitate accurateinterpretation.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

The embodiments are described with reference to the following figures:

FIG. 1 illustrates a system diagram for an interactive virtual caresystem, according to an embodiment;

FIG. 2 illustrates an example of a screen display for the interactivevirtual care system, illustrating, for example, a user view of generaluser data;

FIG. 3 illustrates an example of a screen display for the interactivevirtual care system, illustrating, for example, user vital data entry;

FIG. 4 illustrates an example of a screen display for the interactivevirtual care system, illustrating, for example, a responder view ofgeneral and user vital data;

FIG. 5 illustrates an example of a screen display for the interactivevirtual care system, illustrating, for example, a responder view of auser movement test;

FIG. 6 illustrates an example of a screen display for the interactivevirtual care system, illustrating, for example, a user view of remotemovement instructions;

FIG. 7 illustrates an example of a screen display for the interactivevirtual care system, illustrating, for example, a responder view of usermovement;

FIG. 8 illustrates an example of a screen display for the interactivevirtual care system, illustrating, for example, a responder view of usermovement and historical analysis;

FIG. 9 illustrates an example of a screen display for the interactivevirtual care system, illustrating, for example, a user view foron-screen instructions;

FIG. 10 illustrates a method for interactive virtual care, according toan embodiment;

FIG. 11 illustrates a method for interactive virtual care, according toan embodiment; and

FIG. 12 illustrates a computer system, according to an embodiment.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS

For simplicity and illustrative purposes, the principles of theembodiments are described by referring mainly to examples thereof. Inthe following description, numerous specific details are set forth inorder to provide a thorough understanding of the embodiments. It will beapparent that the embodiments may be practiced without limitation to allthe specific details. Also, the embodiments may be used together invarious combinations.

An interactive virtual care system may provide for highly interactivevirtual care consultations, for example, between two remote individuals.For facilities, such as, for example, a health care facility, theindividuals may include a user (e.g., a patient) and a responder (e.g.,a health care provider) located at a remote location from the user. Thediscussion below includes examples of application of the system for apatient and a health care provider. However, the system may be used withother industries for evaluation of any type of movement of anindividual. For a health care facility, the system may provide forface-to-face video and two-way sharing of a patient's healthinformation, and further include the use of computer-vision technologyto assist the remote interaction by capturing and analyzing, forexample, the patient's movements. These capabilities may offer a remotehealth care provider an enhanced view of a patient's condition. Thesystem may also provide for computer-assisted speech and audio analysisof a health care provider's and patient's interactions.

The interactive virtual care system may include a user sensory module toacquire multi-modal user data related to user movement. The modules andother components of the system may include machine readableinstructions, hardware or a combination of machine readable instructionsand hardware. Multi-modal user data may refer to data acquired bymultiple modes of input or output, such as a depth camera and/or amicrophone array as discussed below. A data analysis module may comparethe multi-modal user data to predetermined historical user data and/orstatistical norm data for users to identify an anomaly in the usermovement. The user sensory module may include a depth camera to acquirethe multi-modal user data. The user sensory module may also include amicrophone array to acquire multi-modal user data related to speech. Aresponder sensory module may acquire multi-modal responder data relatedto responder movement. The data analysis module may compare themulti-modal user data to the multi-modal responder data to identify ananomaly in the user movement. A user and/or responder interface modulesmay display a computer-generated version of the user movement thathighlights movements of predetermined portions of a user's body. Theuser and/or responder interface modules may further display a real-timeversion of the user movement adjacent to and/or superimposed on thecomputer-generated version of the user movement, for example, tofacilitate identification of an anomaly. The user and/or responderinterface modules may further highlight the anomaly in the user movementin the computer-generated version of the user movement. For comparisonof the multi-modal user data to the predetermined historical user data,a range of the predetermined historical user data may be selectable. Theuser and/or responder interface modules may include, for example, akeyboard and/or touch screen format for data entry.

A method for interactive virtual care may include acquiring multi-modaluser data related to user movement, and comparing the multi-modal userdata to predetermined historical user data and/or statistical norm datafor users to identify at least one anomaly in the user movement. Themethod may further include acquiring the multi-modal user data by adepth camera and multi-modal user data related to speech by a microphonearray. The method may include displaying a computer-generated version ofthe user movement that highlights movements of predetermined portions ofa user's body. The method may include displaying a real-time version ofthe user movement adjacent to and/or superimposed on thecomputer-generated version of the user movement. The method may includehighlighting the anomaly in the user movement in the computer-generatedversion of the user movement.

A non-transitory computer readable medium having stored thereon acomputer executable program to provide interactive virtual care, thecomputer executable program when executed may cause a computer system toacquire multi-modal user data related to user movement, and compare themulti-modal user data to predetermined historical user data and/orstatistical norm data for users to identify at least one anomaly in theuser movement.

An example of a use scenario of the interactive virtual care system mayinclude a user (e.g., a patient) with a medical condition visiting, forexample, a retail clinic for a virtual visit with a remotely locatedresponder (e.g., a health care provider). The user may be checked intothe system by a nurse or another locally disposed health care provider.The health care provider may collect the user data, such as, forexample, vitals and enter the information via the user interface module.The user data may be sent to the responder interface module for viewingby the remotely located responder. The remote responder may send, forexample, exercises to the user interface module for user diagnosis andevaluation, and may otherwise communicate with the user via theresponder sensory module. The user may perform the exercises or proceedas directed by the remote responder, and all user activities may becaptured by the user sensory module. The data analysis module mayanalyze all data captured from the user and responder interface modules,and all data captured by the user and responder sensory modules togenerate results based on comparison of user specific history dataand/or history data of a range of users generally to determine anyanomalies. The history data for the range of users may be in the form ofstatistical norms for users. These anomalies and other result data maybe reported to the remote responder, whereby the responder may diagnosethe user's condition and render appropriate treatment in the form of aprescription or other activities.

As discussed above, the interactive virtual care system may provideremote acquisition of multi-modal user data via the user sensory module,which may include, for example, high-fidelity audio-video sensorydevices. Likewise, responder data may be remotely acquired via theresponder sensory module, which may also include, for example,high-fidelity audio-video sensory devices. As described in detail below,the audio-video sensory devices may include, for example, a depth cameraand microphone arrays. The depth camera may include, for example, aMICROSOFT KINECT camera system. In a healthcare environment, the dataacquired from the user and responder sensory modules may be used toaugment patient reported symptoms and professionally obtained biometricdata to assist a remote health care provider in arriving at moreaccurate medical diagnoses.

As discussed herein, the interactive virtual care system may facilitatean interactive care delivery approach that may involve the use of userdata to help a responder arrive at more accurate medical diagnoses. Forexample, data related to a user's walking and gesture patterns (e.g.,gaits, strides, balances) may be acquired unobtrusively using, forexample, depth-perceiving camera arrays. Data related to a user's vocaland/or speech patterns may be acquired unobtrusively using, for example,microphone arrays. The visual and audio data may be transmitted to thedata analysis module and analyzed for anomaly identification bycomparing, for example, population norms as well as historical patternsof the particular user. Such anomalies may be highlighted and presentedon the user and/or responder interface modules based on the systemconfiguration. For example, the responder interface module may be usedby a health care provider at a remote location to simultaneously view areal-time live video stream of the user (e.g., the patient) performingan action (e.g., walking, stretching) side-by-side with resultsgenerated by the data analysis module to assist in arriving at a medicaldiagnosis. The results generated by the data analysis module may also beshown as an overlay to the real-time video stream of the user.

The interactive virtual care system may also be used in an unsupervisedenvironment (e.g., without interaction with a responder) to provide auser (e.g., a patient) visual cues to guide the user through the correctprocess. For example, a treatment process (e.g., physical therapyroutine or exercise) may be observed, validated and recorded under thedirection of a health care provider at a remote location. A derivativeoutline from the recorded footage may be used to automatically guide auser through a treatment process regimen while the user is in anunsupervised setting, such as, for example, at home. The user'ssubsequent unsupervised in-home exercise/physical therapy sessions maybe recorded and transmitted through the same remote hosting applicationfor purposes of being viewed by a remote health care provider and/oradditional analysis and comparison against the user's historicalpatterns. As the remote health care provider monitors the user'sprogress, the remote health care provider may adapt the user's treatmentregimen over time, for example, by adjusting and transmitting a new ormodified derivative outline from the user's recorded footage.

The interactive virtual care system may be usable, for example, toprovide remote health care expertise to any environment located adistance away from a primary health care provider, such as, for example,a remote clinic. The system may also be usable at any locationconvenient to a user, such as, for example, a user's home. The systemmay be usable in a stand-alone configuration, such as, for example, akiosk, or may be uploaded to an existing computer system, for example,in a clinic environment.

The systems and methods described herein provide a technical solution tothe technical problem of comparing user movement and/or speech withprior historical data or statistical norms for users to determineanomalies. In many instances, manual comparison of user movement orspeech with prior historical data or statistical norms is not a viablesolution given the size of such data and variability involved in themanual comparison, which can lead to inconsistent results. The systemsand methods according to the embodiments provide the technical solutionof objectively determining anomalies based on, for example, acomputer-generated version of the user movement that highlightsanomalies.

FIG. 1 illustrates an interactive virtual care system 100, according toan embodiment. Referring to FIG. 1, the system 100 may include a userinterface module 101 to input user data 102, and a responder interfacemodule 103 to input responder data 104. As described in further detailbelow, the various components of the system 100 may be operable tocapture and analyze data from multiple users and responders, which mayinclude data pertaining to a user, for example a patient, and datapertaining to a responder, for example a health care provider. Themodules and sub-components of the system 100 may be combined orpartitioned without departing from the scope of the system 100, and arepartitioned as shown in FIG. 1 for facilitating an understanding of thesystem 100. For example, the user and responder interface modules 101,103 may be combined as a general system interface module. A user sensorymodule 105 may include audio and video capture and relay capabilitiesfor respectively capturing and relaying information related to a user toa responder. A responder sensory module 106 may likewise include audioand video capture and relay capabilities for respectively capturing andrelaying information from a responder to a user. A data analysis module107 may analyze the user and responder data 102, 104 and data capturedby the user and responder sensory modules 105, 106 to generate results108, such as, for example, patient specific metrics to a health careprovider or results and/or instructions to a patient. The data analysismodule 107 may be implemented in a cloud environment, instead of as acomponent of the system 100. The system 100 may provide for the samedata to be viewed by either the user or the responder without sendingthe actual data between the user and responder interface modules 101,103. A data storage 109 may be provided for storing information utilizedby the system 100, which may include, for example, user specific historydata or history data of a range of users generally. The user data andhistory data may be used to generate statistical norms used forcomparison as described below.

Referring to FIG. 2, an example is shown of a user screen display 120for the user interface module 101, illustrating, for example, use of thesystem 100 in a health care facility and a patient view of generalpatient data. The screen display 120 may include, for example, generalpatient data, such as, patient date of birth at 121, insuranceinformation at 122, health care provider information at 123, andagreements to proceed with the virtual health care process at 124.

FIG. 3 illustrates an example of the user screen display 120illustrating, for example, patient vital data entry. The screen display120 may include, for example, patient vital data, such as, patientheight at 125, weight at 126 etc., and a touch screen keypad 127 forentry of the patient vital data. Alternatively, biometric devices, suchas, for example, a blood pressure monitor or a weight scale may becoupled to the user sensory module 105 for automatic capture of patientvital data.

Referring to FIG. 4, an example is shown of a responder screen display130 for the responder interface module 103, illustrating, for example, ahealth care provider view of the general and patient vital data. For thesystem 100 implemented, for example, as a kiosk, the screen displays120, 130 may be provided adjacent each other so that the user andhealthcare provider may each see two or more displays. As discussedabove, the screen displays 120, 130 are provided for illustrativepurposes only and may be combined in a single or distributed acrossother multiple displays. For example, a user may see the screen display120 including user specific information and the screen display 130including instructions from the responder as a combined display.

Referring to FIG. 4, the screen display 130 may include, for example,general patient data, such as, patient date of birth at 121, and patientvital data, such as, patient height at 125, weight at 126 etc. Thescreen display 130 may also include a timeline 131 selectable todetermine a patient's medical history for comparison. For example, asshown in FIG. 4, a health care provider may select a timeline from Mar.25, 2010-Apr. 1, 2010. The user medical records may be displayed atwindows 132, and may include, for example, notes related to previouspatient ailments at 133 and health care provider diagnosis at 134. Otherwindows may display metrics related to a patient's walking goals at 135,with the goal metrics being displayed at 136 and patient actual metricsbeing displayed at 137. A history of patient performance in other testsmay be displayed at 138 and 139.

FIG. 5 illustrates an example of the screen display 130, illustrating,for example, a health care provider view of a patient movement testwhich may be initiated by selecting a “tools & tests” option at 140 asshown in the FIG. 4 screen display. Assuming for example the usercomplains of knee pain, the test options 141 or 142 may be selected.FIG. 6 illustrates an example of the user screen display 120,illustrating, for example, a patient view of remote movementinstructions. Assuming the health care provider selects the test at 141,the user screen display 120 may provide the patient an example ofmovement at 143 requested by the health care provider. For example, thepatient may be requested to walk ten feet as shown in the illustrationof FIG. 6.

Referring to FIG. 7, an example of the responder screen display 130 mayillustrate, for example, a health care provider view of patient movementrecorded by the user sensory module 105. The user sensory module 105 mayinclude high-fidelity audio-video sensory devices. The audio-videosensory devices may include, for example, a depth camera and microphonearrays. The depth camera may include, for example, a MICROSOFT KINECTcamera system. Responder data may also be acquired via the respondersensory module 106, which may also include, for example, high-fidelityaudio-video sensory devices. The user sensory module 105 may providereal-time digitization of user movement to produce a computer-generatedversion of the user movement that highlights anomalies, where themovement may be displayed at 150. For example, an anomaly related to aknee joint may highlight the knee joint area in the display at 150and/or provide metrics related to the degree or extent of the anomaly inthe results 108. The real-time digitization may be based oninterpretation of movement by the user sensory module 105.

Options for selecting user historical movements may be presented at 151,and a listing of all previously recorded user movement analysis may bepresented at 152. The data acquired from the user sensory module 105 maybe used to augment patient reported symptoms and the biometric datarelated to patient movement at 150 to assist the remote health careprovider in arriving at more accurate medical diagnoses. Data related tothe user's vocal and/or speech patterns may also be acquired by the usersensory module 105 by using, for example, microphone arrays.

Referring to FIG. 8, an example is shown of the screen display 130,illustrating, for example, a health care provider view of patientmovement and historical analysis. Referring to FIGS. 7 and 8, assuming acomparison is made between a patient's current movement at 150 andhistorical movement at 153, the current and historical movements may bedisplayed adjacent each other as shown. The historical movement may beselected from the user historical movements at 151 or the listing ofpreviously recorded user analysis at 152. Based on the selection, thedata analysis module 107 may perform an analysis for anomalyidentification by comparing the patient's current movement at 150 withthe patient's selected historical movement. Alternatively, the dataanalysis module 107 may perform an analysis for anomaly identificationby comparing the patient's current movement at 150 with statisticalpopulation norms, and identifying any significant deviation from suchpopulation norms. Such anomalies may be highlighted and presented on theuser and/or responder interface modules 101, 103 based on the systemconfiguration. For example, the responder interface module 103 mayinclude the display at 130 as shown in FIG. 8. The display may be usedby a health care provider at a remote location to simultaneously view inreal-time a live video stream of the user (e.g., the patient) performingan action side-by-side with the computer-generated results (e.g., thepatient's current movement at 150) generated by the data analysis module107 to assist in arriving at a medical diagnosis. Based on anomalyidentification, the health care provider at the remote location mayprovide a medical diagnosis and further instructions as needed.

The anomaly identification performed by the data analysis module 107 maybe determined by comparing user specific movement and/or audioinformation with prior history information for the user (e.g., movementdata collected 6 months ago), or with statistical norms of similarusers. The similarity of users may be based, for example, on metricssuch as age, gender, race, height, weight, general demographics andother health conditions. The real-time digitization of user movementcaptured by the user sensory module 105 may be used to compare points ofinterest for the patient to prior patient history information and/orstatistical norms of similar users as described above. For example, formovement information, the data analysis module 107 may compare changesat various joints of a patient to determine, for example, limpdevelopment, changes in posture, a length of time taken for a certainmovement etc. For example, in order to determine limp development, thedata analysis module 107 may determine that based on a startingposition, the patient has a longer stride using a right leg as comparedto a left leg. Factors such as a length of time taken for certainmovement may also be compared to historical data for the patient whichmay be used as a threshold to determine if there has been improvementcompared to the historical data. Alternatively, factors such as a lengthof time taken for certain movement may also be compared to statisticalnorms which may be used as a threshold to determine if the user fallswithin or outside of such statistical norms.

The data analysis module 107 may also be trainable to recommenddiagnosis based on anomaly identification. For example, for an anomalyrelated to a length of time it takes for movement of a right leg versusa left leg, or based on the length of a stride using a right leg versusa left leg, the data analysis module 107 may recommend a diagnosisrelated to limp development (e.g., physical therapy focused on gait).The data analysis module 107 may also be trainable to generate arecommended treatment based on the recommended diagnosis.

Referring to FIG. 9, an example is shown of the screen display 120,illustrating, for example, a user view for on-screen instructions. Asshown in FIG. 9, an example of the on-screen instructions is shown at154 where the user (e.g., the patient) may follow the instructions andthe user's movements may be displayed in the window at 155. Theon-screen instructions 154 of FIG. 9 may be performed with a responder(e.g., the health care provider) viewing the user response at a remotelocation or under unsupervised conditions. Alternatively, a user or aresponder may record the on-screen instructions 154, which may serve asa template for the user to follow, and the user may perform themovements under unsupervised conditions. The template may serve as thebaseline for anomaly identification. The data analysis module 107 mayidentify anomalies based on comparison of the data obtained by the usersensory module 105 with the template, or based on comparison of the dataobtained by the user sensory module 105 with prior user-specifichistorical data or with statistical norms of similar users as discussedabove. The user may also follow instructions from a responder and themulti-modal user data may be compared to the multi-modal responder datato identify an anomaly in the user movement. The identified anomaliesmay be subsequently analyzed by a responder (e.g., the health careprovider).

FIG. 10 illustrates a flowchart of a method 300 for interactive virtualcare, according to an embodiment. FIG. 11 illustrates a flowchart of amethod 400 for interactive virtual care, according to an embodiment. Themethods 300 and 400 may be implemented on the interactive virtual caresystem 100 described above with reference to FIGS. 1-9 by way of exampleand not limitation. The methods 300 and 400 may be practiced in othersystems.

For the method 300, referring to FIGS. 1, 2 and 10, at block 301, foruse in a health care facility, the interactive virtual care system 100may acquire general user (e.g., patient) data, such as, patient date ofbirth at 121, insurance information at 122, health care providerinformation at 123, and agreements to proceed with the virtual healthcare process at 124. Capture of the general user data may be automated,for example, by attaching a magnetic strip card or a user-specific IDissued, for example, by a health insurer.

At block 302, referring to FIGS. 1, 3 and 10, the system 100 may acquireuser vital data, such as, patient height at 125, weight at 126 etc.

At block 303, referring to FIGS. 1, 4 and 10, the system 100 may displaythe general user data and user vital data at the responder interfacemodule 103. The system 100 may receive selection of the timeline 131,which is selectable to determine a patient's medical history forcomparison. As discussed above, the user medical records may bedisplayed at windows 132, and may include, for example, notes related toprevious patient ailments at 133 and health care provider diagnosis at134. Other windows may display metrics related to a patient's walkinggoals at 135, with the goal metrics being displayed at 136 and patientactual metrics being displayed at 137. A history of patient performancein other tests may be displayed at 138 and 139.

At block 304, referring to FIGS. 1, 5 and 10, the system 100 may receivea selection of a test by a responder. For example, the system 100 mayreceive selection of the “tools & tests” option at 140 as shown in theFIG. 4 screen display. Assuming the system 100 receives selection of thetest 141, the user screen display 120 may provide the patient an exampleof movement at 143 requested by the health care provider. For example,the patient may be requested to walk ten feet as shown in theillustration of FIG. 6.

At block 305, referring to FIGS. 1, 7 and 10, the user sensory module105 may acquire multi-modal user data 102 related to user movement.Referring to FIG. 7, an example of the responder screen display 130 mayillustrate, for example, a health care provider view of patient movementrecorded by the user sensory module 105.

At block 306, referring to FIGS. 7 and 10, the user sensory module 105may provide real-time digitization of user movement to produce acomputer-generated version of the user movement that highlightsanomalies, where the movement may be displayed at 150. The real-timedigitization may be based on interpretation of movement by the usersensory module 105.

At block 307, referring to FIGS. 7 and 10, the responder interfacemodule 103 may provide options for selecting user historical movementsat 151, and a listing of all previously recorded user movement analysismay be displayed at 152.

At block 308, referring to FIGS. 1, 7, 8 and 10, the data analysismodule 107 may compare a patient's current movement at 150 andhistorical movement at 153, with the current and historical movementsbeing displayed adjacent each other as shown. The historical movementmay be selected from the user historical movements at 151 or the listingof previously recorded user analysis at 152. Based on the selection, thedata analysis module 107 may perform an analysis for anomalyidentification by comparing the patient's current movement at 150 withthe patient's selected historical movement. Alternatively, the dataanalysis module 107 may perform an analysis for anomaly identificationby comparing the patient's current movement at 150 with statisticalpopulation norms, and identifying any significant deviation from suchpopulation norms.

At block 309, referring to FIGS. 1, 7, 8 and 10, the data analysismodule 107 may highlight and present anomalies on the user and/orresponder interface modules 101, 103 based on the system configuration.The data analysis module 107 may also generate metrics of the degree orextent of the anomalies as the results 108. For example, the responderinterface module 103 may include the display at 130 as shown in FIG. 8.The display may be used by a health care provider at a remote locationto simultaneously view in real-time a live video stream of the user(e.g., the patient) performing an action side-by-side with thecomputer-generated results (e.g., the patient's current movement at 150)generated by the data analysis module 107 to assist in arriving at amedical diagnosis. Based on anomaly identification, the health careprovider at the remote location may provide a medical diagnosis andfurther instructions as needed.

For the method 400, referring to FIGS. 1, 9 and 11, at block 401, theinteractive virtual care system 100 may acquire general user (e.g.,patient) data.

At block 402, if a user is to perform tests under unsupervisedconditions or following a responder's movements, the user interfacemodule 101 may present on-screen instructions as shown at 154 where theuser (e.g., the patient) may follow the instructions and the user'smovements may be displayed in the window at 155. The on-screeninstructions 154 of FIG. 9 may be performed with a responder (e.g., thehealth care provider) viewing the user response at a remote location orunder unsupervised conditions. Alternatively, a user or a responder mayrecord the on-screen instructions 154, which may serve as a template forthe user to follow, and the user may perform the movements underunsupervised conditions. The template may serve as the baseline foranomaly identification. In the unsupervised setting, a user may contactthe responder at a remote location for assistance as needed.

At block 403, the data analysis module 107 may identify anomalies basedon comparison of the data obtained by the user sensory module 105 withthe template, or based on comparison of the data obtained by the usersensory module 105 with prior user-specific historical data or withstatistical norms of similar users as discussed above. The identifiedanomalies may be subsequently analyzed by a responder (e.g., the healthcare provider).

FIG. 12 shows a computer system 500 that may be used with theembodiments described herein. The computer system 500 represents ageneric platform that includes components that may be in a server oranother computer system. The computer system 500 may be used as aplatform for the system 100. The computer system 500 may execute, by aprocessor or other hardware processing circuit, the methods, functionsand other processes described herein. These methods, functions and otherprocesses may be embodied as machine readable instructions stored oncomputer readable medium, which may be non-transitory, such as hardwarestorage devices (e.g., RAM (random access memory), ROM (read onlymemory), EPROM (erasable, programmable ROM), EEPROM (electricallyerasable, programmable ROM), hard drives, and flash memory).

The computer system 500 includes a processor 502 that may implement orexecute machine readable instructions performing some or all of themethods, functions and other processes described herein. Commands anddata from the processor 502 are communicated over a communication bus504. The computer system 500 also includes a main memory 506, such as arandom access memory (RAM), where the machine readable instructions anddata for the processor 502 may reside during runtime, and a secondarydata storage 508, which may be non-volatile and stores machine readableinstructions and data. The memory and data storage are examples ofcomputer readable mediums. The memory 506 may include modules 520including machine readable instructions residing in the memory 506during runtime and executed by the processor 502. The modules 520 mayinclude the modules 101, 103 and 105-107 of the system 100 shown in FIG.1.

The computer system 500 may include an I/O device 510, such as akeyboard, a mouse, a display, touchscreen, etc. The computer system 500may include a network interface 512 for connecting to a network. Otherknown electronic components may be added or substituted in the computersystem 500.

While the embodiments have been described with reference to examples,various modifications to the described embodiments may be made withoutdeparting from the scope of the claimed embodiments.

What is claimed is:
 1. An interactive virtual care system comprising: auser sensory module to acquire user data related to user movement of atleast one portion of a user's body, the user movement of the at leastone portion of the user's body being performed at a distance away fromthe user sensory module, wherein the user sensory module is furtherconfigured to digitize, in real-time, the user movement of the at leastone portion of the user's body based on an interpretation of theacquired user data by the user sensory module, and produce acomputer-generated version of the user movement of the at least oneportion of the user's body; and a data analysis module, executed by aprocessor, to cause the processor to receive the acquired user data fromthe user sensory module, compare the acquired user data to predeterminedhistorical user data and/or statistical norm data for other users toidentify at least one anomaly in the user movement of the at least oneportion of the user's body, and highlight the at least one anomaly inthe user movement in the computer-generated version of the user movementfor display by a responder interface module.
 2. The system of claim 1,wherein the user sensory module comprises a microphone array to acquiremulti-modal user data related to speech.
 3. The system of claim 1,wherein the user sensory module comprises an audio sensor to acquireuser data related to speech.
 4. The system of claim 1, wherein theresponder interface module comprises a display, and wherein theresponder interface module is configured to: display thecomputer-generated version of the user movement of the at least oneportion of the user's body, highlighting the at least one anomaly in theuser movement of the at least one portion of the user's body identifiedby the data analysis module.
 5. The system of claim 4, wherein theresponder interface module is further configured to: display a real-timeversion of the user movement of the at least one portion of the user'sbody adjacent to and/or superimposed on the computer-generated versionof the user movement of the at least one portion of the user's body. 6.The system of claim 1, further comprising: a user interface modulecomprising a display, wherein the user interface module is configuredto: display the computer-generated version of the user movement of theat least one portion of the user's body, and additionally display areal-time version of the user movement adjacent to and/or superimposedon the computer-generated version of the user movement of the at leastone portion of the user's body.
 7. The system of claim 1, furthercomprising: a user interface module comprising a display, wherein theuser interface module is configured to: display the computer-generatedversion of the user movement of the at least one portion of the user'sbody and highlight the at least one anomaly in the user movement of theat least one portion of the user's body identified by the data analysismodule in the computer-generated version of the user movement of the atleast one portion of the user's body.
 8. The system of claim 1, whereinthe user movement of the at least one portion of the user's bodyincludes walking, and the at least one portion of the user's bodycomprises one or both of the user's legs.
 9. The system of claim 1,wherein the data analysis module is to: generate metrics related to adegree of the at least one anomaly in the user movement of the at leastone portion of the user's body.
 10. A method for interactive virtualcare, the method comprising: acquiring user data related to usermovement of at least one portion of a user's body by using a usersensory module, the user movement of the at least one portion of theuser's body being performed at a distance away from the user sensorymodule; digitizing, by at least one processor, the user movement of theat least one portion of the user's body based on an interpretation ofthe acquired user data by the user sensory module; producing, by the atleast one processor, a computer-generated version of the user movementof the at least one portion of the user's body; comparing, by the atleast one processor, the acquired user data to predetermined historicaluser data and/or statistical norm data for other users to identify atleast one anomaly in the user movement of the at least one portion ofthe user's body; and highlighting, by the at least one processor, the atleast one anomaly in the user movement of the at least one portion ofthe user's body in the computer-generated version of the user movementof the at least one portion of the user's body for display by aresponder interface module.
 11. The method of claim 10, wherein the usersensory module comprises at least one video sensory device.
 12. Themethod of claim 10, further comprising: providing for display areal-time version of the user movement of the at least one portion ofthe user's body adjacent to and/or superimposed on thecomputer-generated version of the user movement of the at least oneportion of the user's body.
 13. The method of claim 10, furthercomprising: generating metrics related to a degree of the at least oneanomaly in the user movement of the at least one portion of the user'sbody.
 14. The method of claim 10, wherein the user movement of the atleast one portion of the user's body includes walking, and the at leastone portion of the user's body comprises one or both of the user's legs.15. A non-transitory computer readable medium having stored thereon acomputer executable program to provide interactive virtual care, thecomputer executable program when executed causes a computer system to:acquire user data related to user movement of at least one portion of auser's body by using a user sensory module, the user movement of the atleast one portion of the user's body being performed at a distance awayfrom the user sensory module; digitize the user movement of the at leastone portion of the user's body based on an interpretation of theacquired user data by the user sensory module; produce acomputer-generated version of the user movement of the at least oneportion of the user's body; compare, by a processor, the acquired userdata to predetermined historical user data and/or statistical norm datafor other users to identify at least one anomaly in the user movement ofthe at least one portion of the user's body; and highlight the at leastone anomaly in the user movement of the at least one portion of theuser's body in the computer-generated version of the user movement ofthe at least one portion of the user's body for display by a responderinterface module.
 16. The non-transitory computer readable medium ofclaim 15, wherein the user sensory module comprises a microphone arrayto acquire multi-modal user data related to speech.
 17. Thenon-transitory computer readable medium of claim 15, wherein the usersensory module comprises an audio sensor to acquire user data related tospeech.
 18. The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 15,wherein the computer executable program when executed further causes thecomputer system to: provide for display a real-time version of the usermovement of the at least one portion of the user's body adjacent toand/or superimposed on the computer-generated version of the usermovement of the at least one portion of the user's body.
 19. Thenon-transitory computer readable medium of claim 15, wherein thecomputer executable program when executed further causes the computersystem to: generate metrics related to a degree of the at least oneanomaly in the user movement of the at least one portion of the user'sbody.
 20. The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 15,wherein the user movement of the at least one portion of the user's bodyincludes walking, and the at least one portion of the user's bodycomprises one or both of the user's legs.